Artisans d'Angkor
Encyclopedia
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
group trained by the Chantiers-Écoles de Formation Professionnelle. The organization is located on Thmey Street, Siem Reap
Siem Reap
Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor region.Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market...
, Cambodia, although two training schools exist, one in Siem Reap and one at a silk centre 15 kilometres outside the town. An initiative of the National Cambodian Institutions, the French Foreign Ministry and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, CEFP provides unschooled rural youth with a free vocational training program while Artisans d'Angkor provides them a professional, economic and social integration into providing a service for their locale.
History
Prior to establishing the Artisans d'Angkor in 1998, the first initiative to train the uneducated rural youth in the age group of 18 and 25 was made in 1992 when the Chantiers-Écoles de Formation Professionnelle (CEFP) : was started to provide vocational training in Angkorian art forms.Artisans d'Angkor founded in 1998 as a three-year project, its objectives were to support and promote Khmer
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
art and culture, educating local youth, and providing jobs to rural youth who were interested in traditional crafts. The majority of the students are uneducated young Cambodians from rural areas, but are trained in stone and wood carving. The aim was to make the organization self-financed. By 1999, a store had opened in Siem Reap whose principal products were wood and stone reproductions of statues and temple bas-reliefs. Under the supervision of archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, graduates of the program have been able to reproduce some portions of Kbal Spean
Kbal Spean
Kbal Spean is an Angkorian era archaeological site on the southwest slopes of the Kulen Hills to the northeast of Angkor in Siem Reap District, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia...
's missing bas-relief carvings. Les Artisans d'Angkor has created jobs for more than 700 people who earn approximately US$70 per month. Products from the Artisans d'Angkor are on sale in the Old Market of Siem Reap and various outlets around the town and reportedly raise 30% of the school's running costs. A boutique selling the goods of the artisans is also located at Siem Reap Airport itself.
A silk production centre is located 15 kilometres out of town, located about a 20 minute drive from Siem Reap in the Puok District
Puok District
Puok District is one of twelve districts in Siem Reap Province, in northwestern Cambodia. According to the 1998 census of Cambodia, it had a population of 110,863.-Administration :- References :...
, so two workshops of the artisans are open to the public in total. The artisans at the silk centre, mainly young girls from surrounding villages learn the techniques of traditional silk weaving. The silk centre is funded by the Cambodian and French governments, which also provides accommodation and food for the artisans. Once the artisans are trained in silk weaving they return to their villages and gain employment as weavers.
Before it became a self sustaining and independent institution Artisans d'Angkor was a limited company in 2003 with minor public share. It has now the privilege of employing 1000 people with the dedicated efforts aimed to promote the rich arts and crafts of Angkor.
Artwork
Artisans d’Angkor, which was set up as the training institute to bring back to glory the ancient art and culture of the Angkor region oriented its hands-on training programmes of students by skilled craftsmen of the region, with particular emphasis on: Silver Plating or the art of metal which originated during the Oudong period (XV-XVI century) which was known only to a few silversmiths in CambodiaCambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and its use in the past was the prerogative of the rich and famous; the silk weaving, a tradition traced to the 13th century as a result of the influence of the silk route in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
which became an exclusive vocation for the women folk of rural villages producing among other silks one of the most famous silks known as “Ikat
Ikat
Ikat, or Ikkat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres....
”; stone carving art of the Khmer era
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
witnessed in the ancient Angkor temples
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
(particularly with sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
extracted from Siem Reap province); and wood crafting patterned on ancient woodwork of buildings, furniture and pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
decorations using selective wood of trees mostly of rubber tree (for lacquer
Lacquer
In a general sense, lacquer is a somewhat imprecise term for a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss and that can be further polished as required...
ed and gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
items) and precious wood for special items.
Consequent to the craftsmanship skills developed over the years, the Artisans d'Angkor has not only established a retail store in Siem Reap close to its training centers but also a boutique
Boutique
A boutique is a small shopping outlet, especially one that specializes in elite and fashionable items such as clothing and jewelry. The word is French for "shop", via Latin from Greek ἀποθήκη , "storehouse"....
displaying the "Arts & Crafts" made at the training center at Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia, opposite the Post office. The boutique is under the patronage of the Senior Minister, in charge of Special Missions who represents the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia.
Awards
The Artisan's centre, established to perpetuate the art and culture of the World Heritage Site of Angkor through training the present generation of local youth in the disciplines of silver plating (the art of Metal), silk weaving and wood and stone carving, had the distinction of the artisans of the institute getting the award of "Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts" in the competition organized by UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. The award is granted "to product which meets high standards of quality, innovating, cultural authenticity, as well as social and environmentally responsible production."